56 Wins In His Last 66 League Games In Seria A And Premier League; Is Chelsea’s Antonio Conte Simply Overrated Or Underrated?

If there was anyone doubting the tactical prowess of Chelsea’s Antonio Conte during his time in Juventus having won three Seria A Scudetti in a row, that person will be regretting such act right now considering the near perfect form of Conte’s Chelsea side this season having being in an incredible 11 game winning run since losing 3-0 to Arsenal at the Emirates on October 22.
Having watched his side lose 2-1 embarrassingly to Liverpool at home and them being blown apart by a fluid and quick Arsenal side the following week, Conte immediately abandoned his 4-1-4-1 formation for his now perfect 3-4-3 formation which has seen his West London side score 25 goals conceding only twice (one of which was an own goal by Gary Cahill) in 11 league games, thus making him the only manager in Chelsea’s history to win 11 league games in a row having beaten Jose Mourinho’s 2004/2005 record (10 straight wins). Such has been Conte’s influence on Chelsea that the same side who were 15th in the table five points off relegation places by this time last year are now topping the table seven points ahead of Pep Guatdiola’s Manchester City.
What is even more shocking to neutrals is the fact that Chelsea were 6th in the table as of October having lost twice (Arsenal and Liverpool) and drawn away to Swansea only to go top dropping no points gaining the maximum points. The main reason Conte’s Chelsea is applauded and tipped as runaway leaders despite the fact that the league still has 21 games to go is the fact that Chelsea know when to win convincingly and when to grind out results considering the West London side beat the likes of Manchester United, Everton and Leicester City 11-0 at the same time grinding out a 1-0 victory in their last three games against defensive minded teams like West Brom, Sunderland and Crystal Palace to convince doubters that they know how to win even when playing no where near their best.
This is the main reason it is important to note that Conte has now won 56 of his last 66 league games in charge of both Juventus and Chelsea having lost once in Seria A and twice in the Premier League.
Under Conte, certain alienated players in Chelsea have rediscovered their Midas touches with Nigerian Victor Moses a prime example having shown his qualities in defence and attack making football analysts question Jose Mourinho’s real motives in sending him out on loan to three different clubs during his time at the club. Also to be included is Pedro and David Luiz who looked a shadow of themselves during their time with the Portuguese.
Though this has become more public and noticeable this is not the first time Conte has improved a side he inherited having done the same in the international scene with Italy taking an average Italian team that had the likes of Graziano Pelle, Simeon Zaza, De Sciglo and Insigne to the quarter-final of the European tournament having beaten the likes of Belgium and Spain on their way before losing to Germany on penalties. It is imperative to know that this was the same Italian side that was eliminated in the group stage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil with Uruguay and Costa Rica qualifying for the knockout from the same group .
While it might be too early to judge Conte, one thing we all know for sure is that the Italian has proven to be the unlikely top dog in the Premier League with the likes of Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp proving to be lightweights . Whether or not Conte’s incredible run will continue is however a question for another day.
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